Frozen 2: Deep Freeze
by TheAlphaTheOmega
Summary: PLEASE EXCUSE THE ROUGH APPEARANCE! STYLE/FORMATTING OVERHAUL UNDERWAY. This is written as a direct sequel to Frozen, in sync with canon. First of three stories to be written. It is a work in progress, and any feedback is appreciated as long as it is constructive. There are some sections that are very rough, and some areas that are stylized more like a plot outline than a story.
1. Chapter 1

**Time: **7-9 months after the end of Frozen

**Information: **Summer and Fall have come and gone, and Arendelle is locked in the depths of winter. However, it is now April, and yet the winter weather continues to worsen instead of abating due to the fact that it should now be spring.

**Scene One(Intro, exposition, etc.)**

A cloaked horseman rides quickly across the moat bridge to Arendelle Castle. Arendelle is covered with a foot of snow, and snowflakes blow gently around the horseman in the wind, picked up from snowdrifts on the frozen water of the fjord. It is sunny outside, but ominous looking clouds are billowing on the horizon and slowly heading towards the city. The horseman proceeds through the open gates and into the castle at a steady pace. At the entrance to the building itself,, he gets off his horse and steps inside. He takes off his cloak and walks into the Great Hall, where Elsa, Anna, and several other officials are talking about various city affairs. They quiet as the horseman enters the Hall, delivering news that lookouts on the mountains outside the city have spotted "yet another" big winter storm bearing down on Arendelle. The horseman leaves after finishing his report. Elsa immediately dismisses everyone from the Great Hall, but catches Anna's arm and whispers for her to stay. The officials file out of the room, chatting as they go. The doors close behind the last of them, and Anna and Elsa are left alone in the Great Hall.

Elsa begins pacing back and forth within the Great Hall of the Arendelle castle. She is obviously concerned, muttering to herself and displaying anxiety in her facial expressions. Sharp ice spikes are forming around her feet with each footstep. Anna soon notices this and rushes over to try to calm Elsa down. She gets halfway there before Elsa turns and asks Anna what they can do about this seemingly never-ending winter. Anna replies by asking Elsa to just use her powers and end the winter herself, but Elsa yells "Don't you think I've already tried that?" Large icicles sprout from the floor around Elsa, then quickly disintegrate as Elsa calms down and adds in a softer tone that she has "been trying for a month to end this harsh winter that has put Arendelle into a deep freeze, but no matter what I do, it just keeps getting colder and snowier." Anna asks Elsa if she has any idea what is causing the winter weather to continuously worsen, and Elsa replies that each time the weather worsens, she can "feel the weather itself taking strength from me, from my powers. I have no idea how to stop it, either. Its as if the winter is using my magic as an energy source to make itself grow, yet I don't even know how it is doing so." Anna is shocked and worried by this revelation, and she suggests that they go see the trolls. Anna thinks that perhaps Pabbie can tell them what is happening with Elsa's magic, since they already seem to know so much about it. Elsa reluctantly agrees to join Anna and journey with her to the Valley of the Living Rock, to see if the trolls can help.

After quickly bundling up, Anna exits the castle and enters the city. The storm clouds on the horizon have come closer and grown much more threatening. Giving them a concerned look, Anna rushes over to a small, shuttered store close to the bridge to the castle. The store has a sign in the window that says "closed for the winter." Ignoring the sign, Anna knocks three times on the door. A man looks out at her through the window shutters, then opens up the door. Anna greets the man inside with a kiss on the cheek, as Kristoff embraces her and kisses her in return. They exchange greetings and the like, and Kristoff gripes that "this blasted winter is ruining me! I can't sell ice when the whole town is covered in it!" Anna laughs at Kristoff's complaints, and tells him that she and Elsa need to talk to Kristoff's "family" about this never-ending winter and Elsa's theory that it is due to her magic that spring has failed to arrive on time. Kristoff nods, runs into the back of the store and returns with Sven, who is rather annoyed that his rest was disturbed. Sven tries to go back to sleep, but Kristoff offers him a bunch of carrots if he would pull Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff in his sleigh to the Valley of the Living Rock. Reluctantly agreeing, Sven lets Kristoff hook him up to the sleigh. A minute later, Sven bursts out the back garage of the store, pulling the sleigh with Kristoff and Anna at a rapid clip towards the castle to pick up Elsa.

After racing across the bridge, Kristoff has Sven park the sleigh just outside the castle gates. Anna jumps off quickly and enters. She disappears inside the castle courtyard, and seconds later Kristoff hears the _boom_ of the castle doors closing behind Anna. Several long moments later, the _boom _sounds again, and Anna and Elsa come out. Anna climbs into the sleigh besides Kristoff, kissing him once more. Elsa is more restrained, formally greeting the "Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer." Kristoff bows and greets her in return as Elsa climbs onto the sleigh. Sven immediately turns around and takes off back down the bridge and careens through the city towards the mountain and the path that will take them to the Valley. Elsa, who has never really ridden in the sleigh before, looks scared and remarks several times that Kristoff is going to kill them all if he keeps driving like this. Anna just laughs and tells Elsa that she will get used to it eventually and that Sven and Kristoff are actually pretty good drivers, "even if they are crazy and reckless." Elsa lets out a chuckle, and tells Anna that she will take her word for it. They finally leave the outskirts of the city, careen around a bend and up a hill, and disappear into the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

**Scene Two(southern isles, same time as scene one)**

A hooded prisoner is being marched out of his prison cell towards his executioner to be beheaded. Once the prisoner reaches the table in the center of a big room with barred windows, the hood is pulled off, revealing the gaunt, disheveled visage of Prince Hans. Hans' head is placed on the block, and a robed official reads out his sentence. "For high crimes against the royal throne of Arendelle, you have been sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?" As Hans opens his mouth to speak, he notices a movement in the corner of the room. Half a second later, the executioner and the official are both knocked out by a team of five black robed men. Hans is knocked out as well.

When he comes to 10 minutes later, he finds himself freed of his restraints and surrounded by trees. The castle he was inside is far in the distance, and his rescuers are around a campfire several feet away. One of the rescuers notices he is awake and brings him towards the campfire, where they explain to Hans that they are men loyal to the ex- Duke of Weselton. They explain that after the Duke returned to Weselton, he was dishonored and demoted for his role in causing Arendelle to break off trade with Weselton. They were told to rescue Hans because the Duke wants to get revenge on Arendelle and Elsa for his disgrace, and he knew that Hans would want to get revenge for his failed coup on the throne of Arendelle. Hans agrees, and quickly teams up with the Duke's men.

Over the next few hours, Hans rounds up the few men still loyal to him, and rendezvous with the main body of the duke's men. Together, they form two large armies and plan their attack on Arendelle and their vengeance against Anna and Elsa. They then ride to the shore of one of the Southern Isles, where the Duke's ships are secretly hidden in a cove. Hans' army boards half the boats, while the Duke's army mans the other half. They then depart for Arendelle...


	3. Chapter 3

**Scene Three(Valley of the Living Rock, same time as the departure of the boats from the Isles)**

Sven rounds a bend with the sleigh in tow, speeding down a hill before stopping at the entrance to the Valley of the Living Rock. Although there is snow all around, the valley itself is uncovered due to the heat from the steam vents scattered around the area. Kristoff jumps off the sleigh, announcing that they have arrived. He unhitches Sven, and they go off to greet their family. As Elsa and Anna disembark from the sleigh and walk into the center of the valley behind Kristoff, the trolls unroll from their boulder forms and greet Sven and Kristoff before seeing Elsa and Anna. "Its the Queen!" several of them exclaim, and Pabbie quickly rolls into the center of the group and greets them. He remarks that Elsa has grown very much since he last saw her all those years ago as a child, and Elsa remarks that he looks like he hasn't aged a bit.

Once pleasantries have concluded, Pabbie asks Elsa, "to what do we owe this visit." A hush falls over the crowd as Elsa tells Pabbie about the never-ending winter and how she can feel the winter weather growing more and more powerful off her strength, despite her attempts to stop it. She explains that she has been trying for a month to use her powers to end the bitter winter to no effect and that every time it gets colder or another snowstorm brews, she can "feel it drawing off of me, gaining strength through my powers. I can't seem to stop the weather taking energy from me like this. I have no idea what's going on." Pabbie, with a somber look on his face, tells Elsa that she is right that her powers are responsible, but not in the way she thinks. He starts to explain: "Elsa, when I last saw you, you were but a young child, and I told you that your powers would only strengthen with time." Elsa nods in agreement. Pabbie continues, "However, I did not tell you everything. You were too young to be able to understand the full implications of the truth."

"Elsa, magic is a very powerful and mysterious force. It is everywhere. In its natural, unstructured form, it is found woven throughout the fabric of the world, and is very unstable, and while this contributes to its free, unbound nature, this also means it frequently forms knots in the fabric of the world. And if a child happens to be born within one of these knots, the trapped magic can become intertwined with his or her life force. Elsa, this is how you got your powers." Elsa gasps at this revelation, releasing a soft "Ooh..."

Pabbie continues. "If the knot of magic that the child absorbs is large enough, his or her powers will become apparent from a young age. Otherwise their powers will remain mostly dormant. In either case, the powers within a magical child will grow as they age, dormant or not." Elsa interrupts, asking Pabbie how any of this explains what is happening with the weather and her magic.

Pabbie continues. "I was just about to get to that. As a child with magic in their life force grows, his or her powers may grow unstable and start to break free. Elsa, it is not the winter absorbing power from your magic, but rather it is your MAGIC breaking free and manifesting itself as never-ending winter weather." Elsa asks Pabbie how to stop it, He replies, "Normally, this happens much earlier in life, because the child's control over the magic is much weaker. Magic that is not well controlled is much more likely to become unstable than magic that is kept under control. Elsa, your immense love for your sister has kept your magic well-controlled, but fate has intervened and destabilized it anyway. The problem is that because magic is so unique and so unlike anything else in the world, it is the only known force capable of manipulating itself."

Elsa interrupts Pabbie. "So can't you use your magic to stabilize mine?" Pabbie shakes his head and replies, "I'm sorry, Elsa, but I am not strong enough. In a child, the magic is weaker and therefore easier to stabilize. Your magic, though, has surpassed even mine, even though I am much older than you. All trolls are magical beings, but since we are living rock, our magic is tied up in maintaining our life. We cannot access it or control it, just as humans cannot will their hearts to stop beating. Very few trolls have any magic to spare, and when we do, it is never much."

Pabbie continues. "The only good news I have is that once a person's magic destabilizes, and if they manage to get it re-stabilized, it will be stable permanently. But this does not help you here. Elsa, you must find someone strong in magic soon, otherwise your magic will grow ever more unstable until it finally breaks free, tearing apart your life force. If that happens, Elsa, you will be overwhelmed and destroyed, and a storm unmatched by any before it will descend upon Arendelle"

Elsa asks, "How long do I have?" Pabbie takes her hands in his, closes his eyes, and concentrates for a few seconds. He then looks back up at Elsa and replies, "It is hard to tell. You may have but a few days, or you may have weeks. Either way, you will know when the end is near. The magic will start tearing itself from your life force, and each time it tears further apart, you will lose some of your strength and vitality, and the weather will sharply worsen. This will happen three times, and after the third, your life force will unravel completely and you will perish." Elsa thanks Pabbie, and with a heavy sigh, turns back towards the sleigh.


	4. Chapter 4

**Scene 4(back at Arendelle)**

Elsa and Anna are back in the Great Hall of the castle. They head up a flight of stairs, passing a large window as they go. They notice that the storm clouds have grown closer and much more ominous. They come up to a private room and enter, locking the door behind them. Once inside, Elsa walks over to a padded chair and sits down with a heavy sigh. She buries her face in her hands, and Anna comes over to try and reassure her. Elsa is struggling to comprehend everything that Pabbie has revealed to her. Anna tells her that everything will be alright and that they will find a way to save her and the city. Elsa starts to talk about the fact that she has no idea what she is going to do, since she and Pabbie are the only two magic-users in Arendelle and the surrounding region. Finally, she begins to get anxious and nervous, worrying about what will happen when she runs out of time. She fears for the safety of the city and everyone within, but Anna manages to sit her back down and calm her. Anna pulls up a chair and sits beside her, keeping her company as she absorbs everything that she has just heard.

Several minutes later, Anna and Elsa hear the castle doors opening up. By now, the storm has arrived and snow is falling at a slow but steady clip, obscuring their view of the courtyard. Before they can leave the room to greet whomever is visiting, the door to their room swings open, a carrot protruding from the lock. Marshmallow, with a mini-blizzard above his head and Olaf sitting on his right shoulder underneath his little flurry, lumbers into the room(his leg is fully healed). Olaf and Marshmallow greet them both. Elsa immediately cheers up, and she and Anna return the greetings. Olaf begins talking, telling them that he and Marshmallow are back from their trip to the North Mountain to check on the state of the ice palace there. Together he and Olaf tell Elsa and Anna that Elsa's Ice Palace on the North Mountain has been severely damaged by the heat of the previous summer. Elsa says that she should have known and that she should have tried to get back there sooner after she thawed Arendelle during the summer in order to protect it against the return of heat, but that she had never gotten around to it. Olaf and Marshmallow add that while they were on top of the mountain, they could see the full extent of the storm bearing down on Arendelle, and that the worst of the storm is still pretty far off.

This news seems to bring Elsa some relief, and she decides to give them a rundown of what has transpired since they left for the North Mountain. She tells them everything, including the warning that Pabbie gave her about her rapidly-destabilizing powers. She adds that the real reason Elsa asked Olaf and Marshmallow to check on the ice palace was because Elsa had been suspecting that her powers might be causing the deteriorating weather for some time and wanted a place that she could go in case her powers got more unstable. She finishes the summary of recent events, and then she bids everyone in the room farewell and goes to take care of some official business. Anna, Olaf, and Marshmallow are left alone in the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Scene 5(Arendelle, the next morning)**

Elsa is asleep in her bed. It is early in the morning. Voices can be heard through the door, along with the sounds of people moving back and forth past her door. Elsa is startled awake by several loud raps on the door. She quickly gets ready and opens the door, to find Anna waiting outside, bundled up in winter gear. Elsa asks what all the commotion is about, and Anna replies that something is happening in the fjord. "They asked me to wake you since I was already up." Elsa rushes out into the castle courtyard behind Anna, where several guards are conversing with lookouts from the cliffs high above Arendelle. Snow is falling hard, and the wind is blowing it around, reducing visibilities to less than a mile. As they exit the castle, one of the guards peels away from the group and strides over towards Elsa and Anna. The guard starts filling them in, telling Elsa that just half an hour ago, several lookouts near where the fjord meets the ocean spotted what appeared to be a ship in distress being blown into the fjord by the storm. Elsa interrupts, asking why she was woken up for a single ship in distress, and the guard replies that the lookouts reported it to be a warship of a type unknown to Arendelle. He says that it is standard policy to alert the royal family of situations involving military vessels or personnel.

Elsa asks him what they are doing about this, and the guard replies that they are sending out a team of armed guards to either fight off any hostile troops, or aid in rescue operations if the ship founders when it hits the edge of the ice sheet covering the fjord. Elsa suddenly cuts off the guard, requesting that she go out with them to the ship. The guard tries to tell her that if it is an invasion, she could be killed, to which she replies, "but if it is a rescue, my ice powers could prove helpful. Besides, I can protect myself." The guard protests, but Elsa orders him to let her go and he leaves.

Ten minutes later, Elsa and the guards, riding in several sleighs, arrive at the edge of the ice sheet covering the fjord. Beyond lies the ocean. The storm has gotten worse, and visibilities are down to less than half a mile. The mysterious ship is nowhere to be seen. Elsa, getting impatient, tells the guards to remain behind. She then starts towards the edge of the ice sheet, which is slowly advancing due to the constantly falling temperatures. She begins to make a walkway, which she lengthens as she walks down it. Before she can get farther than 50 feet out past the edge of the sheet, however, a dark shape looms out of the swirling ice and snow, headed towards her. She quickly rushes back to the edge of the sheet and tells the guards to get back as a large, jet-black ship plows into her ice walkway. Driven by the howling wind, the ship continues ahead, slamming into the ice sheet with a tremendous _BANG_ accompanied by the sound of wood shattering and ice cracking. The bow of the ship is thrown upwards by the collision, hanging seemingly frozen in midair as the ship drives farther forward. Then, seconds later, the bow comes crashing down onto the ice in a spectacular impact, throwing shards of ice and wood in every direction. The ship then rolls over onto its starboard side with a groan of tortured wood, coming to rest canted to starboard and with the forward half of the ship resting on the shattered ice underneath and the stern bobbing up and down on the waves.

Once Elsa and the guards are sure the ship is stable, they begin to look around the hull. The bow of the ship has been splintered and driven inwards by the collision, but a large metal ram still remains attached. The sides of the ship bear the wounds of a savage naval battle, and two of the three masts are broken halfway up. The guards continue to inspect the ship, remarking that it is definitely a warship, but from a land unknown to them. The oddest part of the ship is the nameplate. The original name is illegible, having been crudely carved over by a hatchet. The new name is a single word, and totally at odds with the angular, evil, warlike design of the vessel. Someone had renamed the ship _Hope._

The guards eventually board the stricken ship, and Elsa follows behind them. The deck looks like a disaster zone, with more battle scars and warping caused by the collision. Not a single soul is on deck besides them. One of the guards mentions that it might have been a ghost ship, but it makes no sense that someone would rename it, just to abandon it. Elsa starts to lose hope that there is anyone on this ship, much less anyone who can help her. One of the guards begins to walk aft, headed towards the ship's wheel. As he does, the ship begins to creak, getting worse as more guards follow. One of them goes to open a hatch leading into the hull, but he gets no farther than halfway down the ladder when the fractured, overstressed ice beneath the bow gives way, dropping the bow into the frigid water. Water immediately begins coming in through the heavily damaged bow of the ship, and within seconds, waves are lapping at the forecastle.

Elsa and the guards run towards the submerged bow and jump off the side of the ship, landing on undamaged ice. The ship, bow completely submerged, is sinking rapidly. The stern heaves out of the water as if it is clawing at the sky, then begins to drop downwards. All the windows at the stern of the ship break as the water forces the air out of the ship, seconds later, the stern disappears in a massive fountain of frothing water and debris shot out from the windows. As the last of the air escapes, the fountain subsides until nothing is left except debris and a large, bow-shaped hole in the ice.

Elsa and the guards get back in the sleighs, and just as they begin to depart, Elsa looks back one last time at the site of the sinking. Just then, one last little spurt of debris comes up, and seconds later, a hand, barely visible through the storm, reaches over the lip of the ice sheet. Elsa immediately shouts for the guards to stop and return, and as they turn around, a second hand reaches over. As they near the scene once again, a person pulls himself out of the water and stands up on the ice. The guards stop the sleighs and rush out, running towards the figure, who is stumbling towards them. Just as Elsa arrives, the guards reach the man, who coughs several time before sinking to his knees and fainting. The guards catch him before he falls completely onto the ice, and they pick him up and set him down in one of the sleighs. After several guards make sure there are no other survivors in the water, they get in their sleighs. Elsa gets on the sleigh carrying the unconscious man as the guards surround him and begin covering him with blankets. Just before he is completely covered, however, Elsa catches a glimpse of the man through the guards and notices that _he was wearing nothing but summer clothing... _A spark of hope starts to grow within her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Scene 6(Back at Arendelle, 30 minutes after the rescue)**

Elsa is sitting inside the library of the castle, searching through the books for any mention of ships with designs similar to the one she just saw. Several military personnel are searching giant tomes as well. She gets up from her table with a frustrated sigh and re-shelves the book she was just reading, picking out another one and bringing it back to the table. Before she can open up the book, however, a guard enters the library and tells her that the man they had rescued has just regained consciousness. She orders the guard to take her to the spare room where he is being kept. The doctors who were tending to him file out, and two guards stand outside on either side of the doorway as she enters. The room is dimly lit, and a lone figure is pacing back and forth at the far end of the room, near the single window. Outside, the storm has grown worse, and snow is blowing against the window, obscuring the view.

Elsa goes over to a small fireplace in the side of the room, lighting a fire in order to get more light. At the same time, the figure stops pacing and looks up at Elsa. In the light of the fire, Elsa gets a better look at the man. He is slightly taller than Elsa, with jet black, close-cropped hair, and a limber, muscular body that conveyed strength without coming across as bulky. His face was stern, with a sharp jawline and sparkling, pale blue-green eyes. As Elsa regarded the stranger, the stranger looked at Elsa. He wore a stern, anxious look on his face, but as his gaze swept across Elsa, his facial expression softened for the briefest of moments, a temporary expression of warmth and kindness sweeping across his visage before quickly being replaced by his original stern expression. At the moment their eyes met, Elsa was intrigued by the unreadable emotions of his eyes. "He isn't half-bad looking, especially after being nearly killed in a shipwreck," she thought to herself. She quickly stifled that line of thought, however.

Elsa sat down in a chair, and the stranger sat down in another, facing her. She began by introducing herself, but decided to refrain from revealing that she was queen of this land. She did not want to alienate the man. "I'm Elsa." "Anton," he replied in a strained voice. Elsa began to ask him a question, but he quickly cut her off, asking in an anxious, almost pleading tone, "Please, let me go now." Elsa replied, "Not quite yet. I speak for the queen and would like to ask you some questions." At the mention of "queen," Anton got up and started pacing again. Elsa started asking questions, learning that he was twenty years old and that he was the only one on board the ship, but not much else. Every time she asked anything pertaining to where he was from, why he was on the ship in the first place, or requested details from his past, he would just dodge the question and grow more anxious.

Eventually, he asked again if she could just let him go. Elsa, growing tired of his refusal to give out any information, countered by asking him what he was so worked up about and why he wouldn't answer any questions. He stopped pacing, looked her directly in the eye, and said, "for your safety, and for mine. Now, please let me _go_. I do not want any trouble." Elsa gave up with the questions, instead cutting directly to the chase. "Ok, if you answer this one question, I will let you free." He nodded for her to continue. She said, "When you were rescued, you were wearing clothes suitable for summer. Weren't you cold at all?" At this, Anton snapped. In a suddenly icy voice, he asked,"Why do you want to know?"

Elsa, desperate to see if her hopes were true, tried one last angle of questioning. She told him, "I do not speak for the queen. Rather, I _AM_ the Queen of Arendelle, this land in which you find yourself now, and I order you to answer my question." Anton's eyes went wide when he heard this. "I don't want any trouble, just leave me alone and let me go," he cried, and bolted from the room before anyone could stop him. Elsa ran out into the hallway, and saw him round a corner and jump clear down a staircase. Desperate, she cried, "WAIT, DON'T GO! _PLEASE!_" Anton, hearing the desperation in her voice, hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, but then he continued running. Elsa chased after him. He ran full-tilt toward the doors of the castle and flew through them with a heavy crash. By the time Elsa went out after him, he had nearly disappeared into the blowing snow. Elsa tried calling out to him, pleading with him to come back, but Anton kept running.

Passing stunned guards, Anton raced out through the castle gates, passing Anna and Kristoff on the bridge, who were headed to the castle to find out what had happened with the ship. Elsa caught them a moment later, and told Kristoff to get his sleigh. Kristoff asked why, and Elsa replied, "We need to catch him. I think he has magic in him, and he could save both me and Arendelle!" Kristoff and Anna ran back to the shop, and five minutes after Anton had disappeared past the town borders, across the fjord, and into the forest, Sven tore out of the back of the shop with the sleigh, containing Anna and Kristoff, and they raced off after Anton. The chase was on.


	7. Chapter 7

**Scene 7(open ocean, same time as scene 6)**

Two lines of warships, packed with soldiers, are sailing across the ocean under a rapid breeze. Hans stands on the deck of the lead ship of the rightmost column, looking ahead towards the northeastern horizon. The sky is overcast, and several soldiers on the deck remark that the temperature should not be this cold at this time of the year. He raises a spyglass, but cannot see anything except a haze along the horizon where the shoreline should be. He absentmindedly swivels his gaze to the west, and immediately notices multiple sails peeking over the horizon. He notifies the captain of the ship, who determines that the mysterious ships are on a course to intercept them. While others notify the Duke, who is leading the left column and is closer to the mysterious ships. Within a minute, the mysterious ships have become completely visible, and are definitely heading towards their fleet.

Hans continues to watch the new fleet through his spyglass, trying to identify what kinds of vessels they are and where they came from. As the mysterious fleet grows ever closer to the ships of the Duke and Hans, Hans begins to make out details on the ships. The ships of the mysterious fleet have an angular, evil, warlike appearance to him, and several other lookouts start voicing their concerns that the new arrivals are definitely warships. However, that is all they agree upon. No one recognizes the design of the mysterious ships as belonging to any known kingdom. People begin arguing over which lands the ships came from, and many start to get nervous about the intentions of the new arrivals. The captain gives orders to turn away from the ships, but Hans countermands the orders, ordering them to stay on course towards Arendelle.

Five minutes later, the mysterious fleet of ships has closed most of the distance towards the ships under Hans and the Duke. By now, the arguments have given way to a terse silence, as everyone not occupied with running the ships looks nervously out to the jet-black ships of the unknown fleet still rapidly converging on them. The ships are close enough at this point that details and shapes are visible even without a spyglass. Hans, still watching the oncoming ships, suddenly notices that each one of the oncoming vessels seem to have large, metal rams affixed to the bows. Just then, a long,,deep, and loud sound comes from the black fleet. The tone repeats three times, and then each of the black warships unfurl more sails. The ships quickly accelerate to rapid speeds and swing around so that their rams are pointing directly at the ships heading towards Arendelle.

The Duke's ships, closest to the oncoming attackers, immediately begins turning to the right, towards the column under Hans. The two lines of ships become indistinguishable, and order is quickly lost amongst the Arendelle-bound ships. Each ship frantically begins turning in different directions to avoid being rammed by the attacking fleet, but most aren't fast enough. Hans watches dumbfounded from his ship as the mysterious ships begin tearing into his fleet, and the sounds of shattering wood can be heard above the cries of the crewmembers. Hans' own ship is impacted by an enemy vessel, breaking into two sections as the aggressor ship pushes through. Hans, on the stern section of his vessel, is thrown forward and sideways by the force of the impact, flying through the air. He lands on the deck of the enemy ship and is knocked unconscious by the impact.

Hans comes to as a bucket of water is dumped on his head. He is in a dark room surrounded by several shadowy figures. Before he can say anything, a large man steps through the guards and lights a lantern in Hans' face, blinding and disorienting him. The man picks up Hans by the collar and starts yelling questions at him. Hans is totally confused as the man questions Hans about a single black ship. After several seconds, Hans weakly asks his interrogator what he is talking about. With a roar of frustration, the interrogator throws Hans to the floor, before picking him back up and asking him again, this time with a much more deliberate, angry, low voice. "There was a ship come through here about a day ago. It was black, like this one. Did you see it?" Hans, fearful of what a negative answer might entail, replies "Yes."

The interrogator's eyes widen slightly, becoming more excited. His voice shifts to a slightly less angry tone, and he asks, "You did? Where did it go? Which way was it headed?" Hans, emboldened by the change in tone, says "I will tell you where it went if you tell me why you are so interested in it." The interrogator replies, "Fine. That ship was hijacked by a group of very dangerous men. They are traitors to the empire of Concertia, and the Emperor has sentenced them all to death. This fleet was dispatched with orders from the Emperor to sink that ship and make sure no survivors remain, and to destroy any person, group, or city that they may have associated with. Now, tell me where that ship went!"

Hans, upon hearing that last part, realizes that he could turn this to his advantage by telling them that the ship went towards Arendelle. They would invade Arendelle, and he could then escape and get his revenge. Hans tells his interrogator, "The ship was headed towards Arendelle, a kingdom to the northeast. It's the only place near here where a ship could stop. I have been there before, so if you let me go, I will lead your fleet there and help you find these men." The interrogator nods, and Hans smiles inwardly at his new plans. The interrogator turns to leave, but before he departs, Hans asks, "Wait! What of my fleet? Why did you attack us?" The interrogator turns around, a sadistic smile on his face. He replies, "We destroyed your entire fleet. You are the only survivor, and we only picked you up because you looked important. As for WHY we attacked you..." and the interrogator's voice turned malevolent, "we did it _because we could._"


	8. Chapter 8

**Scene 8(outside Arendelle, several hours after scene 6)**

Anton is running through snow deep within the forest, just after sunset. The storm seems to have abated slightly since visibilities have improved somewhat, even though it is dark outside. Silhouetted against the darkening skyline is a mountain range, the North Mountain most prominent among them. Anton seems to be headed in the direction of the mountains. The wind and snow does not seem to be affect him, though he is still clad in attire more suited to summer conditions. In fact, he seems to enjoy it. Every time a sharp gust hits him, a faint smile breaks through his otherwise- stern visage. As the light fades, Anton begins to slow his pace. By the time the moon is visible as a smear behind the clouds, he has stopped. He mutters to himself, "I think this is far enough for now." He walks over to a nearby snow-covered tree and breaks off a low branch. He takes out a small knife in his pocket and begins to carve the branch into a staff. He sharpens one end and then jams it into the ground upright. He clears a patch of ground and lays down, staring up at the clouded sky above. He starts talking to himself as he lays there, saying "Maybe I shouldn't have fled. For a Queen, she didn't seem to be evil. But even if I had stayed there, they would have figured out my secret eventually, and who knows how they would have reacted. Plus, if I stayed, and the King's fleet found me, they would have destroyed the city." Pausing for a second, he continues. "Yeah, it's better this way. If only it didn't have to be like this. If only I wasn't born with this stupid ability..." He groans, rolls over, and falls asleep.

It is early in the morning when a roar echoes through the trees around Anton, who immediately wakes up. Brushing off snow that accumulated on him overnight, he silently stands and pulls his staff out of the ground. Assuming a defensive posture, he stands silent and motionless, taking stock of his surroundings and trying to see the source of the noise through the swirling snow. Over the howling wind, heavy footsteps can be heard. Anton turns silently towards the noise, just in time for another roar, this time much louder and closer. Through the snow, the silhouette of a large bear appears. It rears up on its hind legs and roars again. Anton slowly backs away from the bear, but the bear drops to all fours and charges at him. Anton, whispering "so it is to be a fight," waits until the bear is within arms-reach, then quick as lightning, he grabs the bear's head and vaults over it. The bear stops running and turns around to face Anton, roaring in frustration. Anton snarls at the bear, bringing his staff up to point at the bear. The bear rears up on its hind legs once more and tries to swipe at Anton, who ducks under the blow, diving between the legs and using his staff to trip the bear in one fluid motion. The bear crashes face first to the ground, then rises and roars again in frustration. It charges him on all fours again, and this time Anton sidesteps, lashes out with the staff, and knocks the bear's legs out from under it. It stumbles and plows chest first into the snow. Before it can rise yet again, Anton points the sharp end of the staff at the bear and makes a threatening move towards it, growling in the process. The bear gets up and begins to back away. Anton charges towards the bear, yelling loudly, and with a bellow of fear, the bear runs off.

Anton relaxes and watches the bear run off. Planting the staff in the ground, he looks around. The storm seems to have continued to slacken off overnight, and now the mountains are clearly visible through the snowy trees. Anton walks over to the closest tall tree and climbs up. At the top, he takes in his surroundings. Arendelle is just barely visible through the lightly falling snow, while the mountain range is much closer and more visible. Anton locks his gaze on the North Mountain, looming high above the other peaks. The top is hidden by storm clouds. He does one final sweep, confirming to himself that nobody is following him, and then jumps off the top of the tree, landing in a snowdrift. Spring out in a spray of powder, he brushes himself off, pulls his staff out of the ground, and starts jogging in the direction of the North Mountain.


	9. Chapter 9

**Scene 9(one hour after the end of Scene 8)**

Kristoff and Anna are riding through the woods in the sleigh, pulled by Sven. Kristoff is driving fast, dodging trees and other obstacles, while Anna looks around for any signs of Anton. Kristoff remarks that it would have been much easier to find him if the storm had abated sooner, since it wouldn't have covered his tracks so well. Anna asks Kristoff whether he thinks they will ever be able to find him in these woods. "He could be anywhere by now," she says, and we don't even know if he changed direction or whether we passed him during the storm or at night." Kristoff replies, "True, but we have to keep searching. Elsa said he could have magic within him, and since Pabbie can't help, he may be our only chance." Anna sighs and slumps down in the seat, frustrated with the fruitless search.

Sven suddenly stops, getting hit by the sleigh behind him. Kristoff and Anna are nearly thrown forward off the sleigh. Sven gets up and cocks an ear, and gradually Kristoff and Anna hear what caused Sven to stop. A faint shuffling noise emanates from the trees, gradually growing louder. Heavy breathing can be heard, as well. Before long, a bear comes wandering through the forest, crossing in front of them. The bear sees them, but rather than attacking, it gives a bellow of fear and runs away from them. As it disappears back into the forest, Kristoff and Anna look at each other with a puzzled expression. Anna wonders, "Why would that bear run from us? What could have caused it to become so scared of humans?" Kristoff is equally confused, and replies, "Nobody lives this deep in the woods, so I don't even know how it recognized us." Anna muses, "And we are only here because we are chasing..."

Kristoff and Anna reach the conclusion at the same time, both saying, "It's got to be him!" Kristoff quickly shouts for Sven to go, and they take off, following the path of the bear back from where it came. After several minutes, they find evidence of a fight, as well as footprints leading off in the direction of the mountains. Kristoff and Anna quickly set off, following the trail, hoping they are on the right track.

Anton is walking uphill through the snow. The slopes of the mountains rise before him, covered in snow, while the forested foothills lay behind him. The trail gets steeper ahead, so Anton stops and sits down on a boulder, taking a short break. He is calmly looking out over the snowy forest below, when he sees movement flickering among the trees. He sees his prints and realizes that the snow has not covered them up. "Well, nuts," he breathes, and quickly surveys his surroundings. It is strewn with boulders, but otherwise open. Above him, higher up the slope, a ledge juts out, rubble beneath it. Anton runs up to the ledge, and notices it is laced with cracks. Thinking quickly, Anton piles up some snow on the top of the ledge and forms it into a low wall of sorts, putting small holes in it he can see through. Laying low on his stomach behind his improvised camouflage, he jams his staff into a wide crack before him, between him and the wall. "This should do nicely," he says, and watches from his hiding spot as a sleigh with two figures in it comes up the slope below him. Once they get close enough for Anton to hear them, he begins working the stick back and forth in the fissure, widening it.

Kristoff and Anna are ascending the slope, following Anton's footprints up the mountain. Suddenly, they hear the sound of stone cracking, and the tip of a overhanging ledge above them gives way, falling down right besides them. Sven immediately turns the sleigh to avoid being hit by debris, while Kristoff and Anna duck down. A cloud of snow and dust swirls up around them, obscuring their view. When it clears, they look up and are surprised to see Anton, standing on the broken ledge above, looking down upon them. Before they can react, he jumps down, landing in the back of the sleigh and bringing his staff to bear.

Kristoff makes to answer, but Anna puts a hand on his shoulder and tells him, "let me handle this one." Turning to Anton, she says, "I'm Anna, this is Kristoff, and Queen Elsa is my sister. She asked us to go after you and bring you back." Anton replies, "Anton. So you are the Princess? That is good, since I have a message for her. Tell Queen Elsa that if she wants to talk with me, she can find me at the top of the tallest mountain in this range." He points at the looming North Mountain, it's top hidden by clouds, and continues, "And tell her that even though I am willing to talk if she meets me there, if I sense even the slightest hint of a trap, it will cost her. Yours would not be the first army I have dealt with..."

Kristoff butts in, asking, "Wait, why did you run in the first place? Why couldn't you just stay in Arendelle and talk with her there? She meant you no harm." Anton, turning to Kristoff, answers, "You would not understand the reasons behind my actions, nor are they for you to know. If Elsa wants to know, she will have to meet me at the top of the mountain." Kristoff begins to tell Anton that there is something at the top of the North Mountain, but before he can say more than a few words, Anton has already begun walking up the slope at a quick pace, headed towards his destination. Kristoff moves to follow him, but Anna tells him to stop. Kristoff says that he should know about the ice palace, but Anna explains that telling him might just make him suspicious. Kristoff reluctantly sits back down, and they ride back down the mountain, headed towards Arendelle.


	10. Chapter 10

**Scene 10(Arendelle Castle, at the same time as the end of scene 9)**

Elsa is in her bedroom, even though daylight is streaming through the windows. Her bed is rumpled, and she is currently sitting slouched down in a chair by the side of the bed. She wears a pained expression on her face, and her arms are gripping the chair, turning her knuckles pure white. The interior of the room is lightly frosted over. She moans softly, occasionally rubbing her head. After a minute, an aide knocks on the door and asks, "Queen Elsa, are you feeling better?" Elsa replies in a weak voice, "No, its getting worse. Now I have a headache too." The aide asks, "Is there anything I can get you? Should I summon a doctor?" Elsa responds, "No, no doctors. I don't want anyone coming in here. But could you get me some bread?" The aide says, "Right away, Your Majesty. I will leave it outside the door," and walks away.

Several minutes later, she hears a knock on the door. She goes and opens up the door just enough to take the plate of bread in, and the aide remarks that she looks bad and should consider getting a doctor. Elsa thanks the aide for her concern and shuts the door, turning around. She makes it halfway to the chair before, all of a sudden, she lets out a cry of pain, dropping the plate and bread. Her knees buckle, and as she falls to the floor, a transparent, ice-blue sphere of magic erupts from her body. The shockwave expands in a sphere, freezing and cracking everything it encounters. As she loses consciousness, she is just barely aware of the giant ice spikes sprouting on every surface around her, as well as the sudden increase in the intensity of the storm outside.

She awakens to find herself tucked into a bed in a guest room, with an aide watching over her. She gets up, but the aide rushes over and tells her to lay down. She counters, saying "It's ok, I feel better now." The aide helps her up, and Elsa asks why she is in a guest bedroom. The aide tells Elsa that her room, and most of that portion of the castle, is either completely destroyed or frozen solid. Elsa goes over and looks out the window, stumbling along the way. She notes that she does feel weaker than before, but she no longer feels sick. At the window, a distressing scene greets Elsa. The town before her is blurred by heavy snow, and she cannot see anything farther than a half mile away. Realizing that this sudden magical outburst was one of the events Pabbie warned her about, she makes a decision. She leaves the room, heading to several officials. She tells them that she will be leaving Arendelle and going to her ice palace, to protect them from further harm should this happen again. Departing the castle, she finds Olaf and Marshmallow in the courtyard, and tells them that she is headed to her ice palace on the North Mountain, and that when Kristoff and Anna come back, to direct them there. She then sets off towards the mountains, disappearing into the blowing snow.


	11. Chapter 11

**Scene 11(two hours after scene 10)**

Kristoff and Anna are racing back to Arendelle through the blinding snowstorm. Emerging from the forest, they quickly enter the town, noticing that some houses are nearly covered by snowdrifts. Crossing the bridge leading to the castle, Sven slows the sleigh down. Entering the castle courtyard at walking speed, Anna and Kristoff jump out and head towards the castle. However, Olaf and Marshmallow interrupt them, telling them that "Elsa is not here. She went to her ice palace." Anna, confused, goes over to an aide and asks why Elsa left, and the aide responds, "she had a magical outburst and decided to leave to protect everyone should it happen again." Kristoff asks if that was what caused the weather to worsen so quickly, and the aide nods his head yes. Kristoff turns to Anna, whispering "I think that is what Pabbie was talking about." Anna agrees. Suddenly, she turns to Kristoff and says, "Anton said he was going to the North Mountain, and now Elsa is headed there too. She won't be expecting him to be there. We have to go and warn her!" Kristoff and Anna get back on the sleigh, but before they can depart, several lookouts come riding in on horses. They look extremely worried, and their horses are out of breath. They dismount, running towards the castle. One splits from the group and rushes over to Anna. "Princess Anna," he says breathlessly, "many large, unknown warships have landed at the edge of the ice shelf and started disgorging troops. We didn't see them until they were almost on top of us because of the storm, and we just barely managed to outrun the troops. We believe they are hostile, since they tried to stop us with crossbows."

Anna immediately gets off the sleigh and runs into the castle. She finds the Captain of the Guard, who is talking rapidly with the other lookouts. She pulls him aside and orders him to "send out every available person into the city to get everyone inside the castle at once. I'm going back out to get Elsa." He acknowledges, and turns to several officers, relaying the orders. Anna runs back out of the castle and tells Kristoff, "take the sleigh and meet me outside the city. I'm going to help warn the town." She tells Olaf to get in the sleigh with Kristoff, and she tells Marshmallow to follow her in case she needs to fight her way out of the city. Kristoff waits for Olaf to get in the sleigh, then he drives off, passing Anna and Marshmallow on the castle bridge. Kristoff and Olaf drive hard through the town, making for the road into the forest. Entering the forest, he stops the sleigh and turns towards Arendelle. His jaw falls open as he beholds what seems to be a swarming army advancing across the icy fjord towards Arendelle, just barely visible through the snow. "Oh no..." he whispers, watching as the soldiers reach the town a minute later. Suddenly, he hears a massive roar echoing amongst the trees, and Olaf exclaims, "It's Marshmallow! They must be in trouble!" Kristoff quickly turns back around and heads towards Arendelle.

Anna and Marshmallow are going door to door, instructing people to evacuate their homes and head to the castle. Several guards are doing the same thing, and before long there is a growing stream of evacuees headed towards the castle, growing in size as word of the rapidly approaching army spreads like wildfire. Anna reaches the end of one street and begins to go down another, when she sees a column of enemy soldiers advancing towards her in the opposite direction. The soldiers are wearing long, flowing red and black tunics, emblazoned with a single flame. She turns to Marshmallow and tells him that they have to get out of Arendelle now, and they both turn in the opposite direction and head towards the road into the forest. They are nearly out when another advancing column comes out of a street ahead and turns towards them. Shouts go up from the advancing column as they see her and Marshmallow, and crossbow bolts start flying around them. Marshmallow roars and engages the troops while Anna runs down an adjacent street. In the distance, she hears a faint voice saying, "I know that beast! They must be close, follow me!" Hooves drum behind her as someone exclaims, "There! I see someone running!" Another, just barely audible, says, "Leave her to me..."

Anna looks back and sees someone riding a horse after her, but the figure is obscured by the blowing snow. Quickly, she ducks into a narrow alleyway between two buildings and hides behind two barrels, watching as the mysterious horseman rides by rapidly without stopping. Listening until the hoof beats have faded to nothing, she breathes a sigh of relief and leans on the barrel, resting for a minute. She then gets up, leaves the alleyway and returns to the main road, the column nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she feels the point of a sword pressing against the back of her neck, and a familiar voice says, "Hello, Princess Anna. It is nice to see you again." Putting her hands up, she turns around slowly and sees Hans on foot, pointing a sword at her. "Why, Hans?" she asks in a quivering voice. "Oh, just revenge," he replies, as enemy troops emerge from their hiding places, pointing crossbows at her. In the distance, she heard Marshmallow roaring again, running towards her from the direction of the forest. Kristoff is following close behind in the sleigh. Hans orders the soldiers to hold them off, while he takes Anna and strikes her over the head with the pommel of his sword, knocking her unconscious.

Kristoff is following behind Marshmallow, charging towards the soldiers. He sees Hans strike Anna, who goes limp. He then calls his horse, who gallops up. Hans puts Anna on the horse, then jumps on himself, riding off. Meanwhile, Marshmallow reaches the soldiers, knocking them sideways. But before Kristoff can get through the gap created by Marshmallow, another column of soldiers comes out of an intersecting street and raises crossbows at him. Ducking, he turns down another street, avoiding the bolts flying by. "Marshmallow!" he yells, and with a roar, Marshmallow charges into the new column and distracts them. Looking up, Kristoff fails to see where Hans went, but sees several more columns headed towards him from all directions save the forest. "Marshmallow, we need to get out of here!" he yells, turning back to the main road and speeding off towards the forest. Marshmallow follows behind, and soon they are deep within the forest, Arendelle hidden in the snow behind them.


End file.
